Ben Davies Assistant tax manager
@pcaltd /company/pierce-group-ltd @PierceCA
A new fundraising drive led by Blackburn Accrington and Rossendale
College is to invest £250,000 in a training workshop specialising in the servicing and maintenance of electric vehicles, battery fault diagnosis and repair, electric motor technologies and the installation of charging equipment.
The R-Group of Companies, the property arm of Blackpool-based The Rigby Organisation, secured a new £3.5m finance package which will allow it to develop its portfolio across Preston and the Fylde coast. The funding includes finance from specialist lender HS Credit, the UK subsidiary of Malaysia’s Hap Seng Group.
Blackburn-based SportsCool, which
works with schools to enhance the delivery of curricular and extra-curricular physical education through 28 sites across the UK, opened a new branch in Glasgow, its first in Scotland.
Chorley-based Inscape Interiors doubled its manufacturing capacity following a £350,000 investment in new machinery. The investment includes the installation of a new 15 metre through-feed CNC nesting cell and edge bander with a panel return system, as well as undertaking a complete reconfiguration of the factory layout.
Burnley College secured government
funding to create a Low Carbon Hub which will provide training and the latest insights to businesses looking to reduce their carbon footprint.
Recycling Lives is to open a new training
academy named after co-founder Terry Jackson. It will offer desk-based tuition, remote learning, hands-on demonstrations and virtual reality to induct new employees, upskill and develop existing staff and support offender rehabilitation.
Figures published by Companies House and the Office for National Statistics and analysed by Inform Direct Review of Company Formations show that 12,800 new companies were registered in Lancashire in 2021, more than in any previous year.
DOWN Two Padiham-based retailers entered
into administration and were rescued by the Kybotech Group. Big Home Shop, which sells garden furniture and outdoor equipment, had its financial challenges exacerbated by supply chain issues and stock shortages during peak sales periods. Physioroom, which sells home exercise equipment, was reliant on Big Home Shop for a number of services and had these troubles compounded by its own funding problems. Around 12 of 35 jobs were lost.
During a devolution debate at Fylde Council, independent councillor Paul Hayhurst attracted national media attention by saying that Blackpool “looks like Chernobyl no matter how much money you put in there,” and that “the more co-operation we have with our neighbours down the road, the more
this area is going to suffer”. He later apologised, saying his intent had not been to attack the resort.
Commenting on January’s inflation figures, Suren Thiru, head of economics at British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “Rising inflation could well be a significant drag anchor on UK economic output this year by weakening consumer spending power and damaging firms’ finances and ability to invest.”
The £4.3bn of Covid loans that may
have to be written-off by The Treasury due to fraud could be eclipsed by businesses failing to repay their CBILs and BBLs Covid support loans, Nicola Clarke, restructuring and insolvency partner with Azets in the North West has warned. In total £73.8bn has been loaned under the schemes to around a quarter of UK businesses.
Youth Zone trustee and Darwen Town Deal Board chair Wayne Wild has set its sights on raising £250,000 to launch a new youth zone in Darwen.
Lancaster-based Two Stories has been
appointed as the brand and design partner for League One football club Morecambe FC.
Progress Housing Group completed an £8.5m 55-unit, fully affordable housing development in Catterall. The project is its first undertaken in partnership with Breck Homes and was supported with funding from Homes England.
PLASTIC PACKAGING TAX: HOW YOUR
COMPANY CAN PREPARE The plastic packaging tax is a flagship government scheme that has been planned since 2018. Coming into force this April, it is a key part of the government’s environmental and sustainability planning.
As you can tell from the name, it will impose a tax on the manufacture or import of plastic packaging with less than 30 per cent recycled content.
For packaging compromising mixed components such as cardboard and plastic, if the weight of the plastic constituent is higher than the other components then the packaging falls within the scope of the tax too.
The tax is charged at £200 per metric tonne of finished packaging, it is important that businesses register ahead of time and a special tax return must be submitted.
The tax will be applied quarterly and is to be paid by the manufacturer or importer, not the customer. Although manufacturers and importers can of course increase their prices to cover the cost of the tax. All other taxes remain chargeable on the goods such as VAT.
The new legislation is set to begin on 1st April 2022.
If you manufacture or import 10 or more tonnes of plastic packaging within a 12 month period, you may need to register for the tax.
HMRC has published guidance on how to register for PPT - although this cannot be done until 1 April 2022.
Preparing for the April new legislation start date:
• Understand the details of the legislation. Like most taxes, the plastic packaging tax sounds simple on the surface but contains myriad details that can catch out the unwary.
• Switch to recycled materials so the tax doesn’t apply. This is, of course, the intention of the tax.
• Speak to your suppliers. They’ll undoubtedly already be aware of the tax, but they may not know that you wish to avoid it.
• Do a practice run. If the tax applies to you, and you can spare the resources, try applying the details of the tax to a previous quarter.
• Keep an eye on developments at
www.gov. uk/guidance/check-if-you-need-to-register-for- plastic-packaging-tax
To discuss any of the information above, or to find out more about how Pierce Accountants can help you prepare for PPT, contact us.
For more information please visit
www.pierce.co.uk
or call 01254 688100
LANCASHIREBUSINESSVIEW.CO.UK
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